Arago: Sonoran Desert Issue

The 33-cent Sonoran Desert commemorative stamp pane of ten designs was issued on April 6, 1999, in Tucson, Arizona. The stamp pane was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland, and illustrated by John Dawson of Hilo, Hawaii.

The Sonoran Desert stamp pane of ten designs is the first in a series of educational stamp panes issued to promote appreciation of the North American biomes. The scene is a creation of the artist's imagination, but each element is painted accurately, based on photo reference and on research by Professor David E. Brown, a specialist in the classification of biotic communities. A list of the common and Latin names of each plant and animal in the stamp art appear on the back of the stamp sheet.

The Banknote Corporation of America, Inc., produced 10 million souvenir sheets using the offset process.